HOLLOWS A—A sorority sister wearing a “Systemic racism sucks” shirt and earrings reading “White solidarity” opens the door as “Sicko Mode” blasts in the background. “Black Lives Matter,” she screams, and everyone raises a fist. Banners exclaiming “We love Black people” and “We are NOT racists” nearly cover the Sorority class photos which show the diverse all-white members. It’s ACAB day, and everyone is buzzing with excitement!
Long gone are the days when prospective new members would be rated based on which part of New Jersey or Connecticut they came from. “Diversity is our mantra for the year,” explains McKinneagh Koch ‘21, Chair of Diversity, to what appears to be two-hundred clones of the same three girls. “I really think this is a great way to change things from the inside,” she says through a smile to a maskless audience.
“I cannot wait to post this on my instagram story. It’ll look so good after that infographic with ten reasons why racism is bad,” says Shelby Halsted. “Everyone in the Hamptons is so anti-racist. We literally stopped segregating the beaches in June after all the protests and stuff.” Halsted, who proudly dons a tasteful shirt depicting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Claudia Conway fist-bumping, proudly explains that she wishes Obama was still President so that “systemic racism wouldn’t exist.”
Though attendees hail from a record four states and are religiously diverse—ranging from Presbyterian to Lutheran—all can agree that “Like, yeah, police brutality is bad, but I don’t think they need to riot” and “Kamala Harris is a total boss babe.”
When the Q&A portion of the night arrives, the answers are insightful. “It’s like fine for your boyfriend to be a Republican. Mine’s from Kappa Kappa Kappa and like he posted a black square so I know he’s not racist. He’s just fiscally conservative,” explains Amanda Westlake ‘21. Julia Berger ‘22 reassures the attendees, “We’re not racist, only classist. Like if you can’t pay the fees, that’s not my fault. Just work harder like my grandparents did when they came here a hundred years ago.”
Towards the end of the event, after activities such as “pin the tail on the cop” and “girl boss bingo,” the music suddenly stops as a distraught Amanda frantically begins tearing down the decorations.
“Guys, we need to take down all the ACAB stuff before my boyfriend sees it. Shut it down.”
